Profile

Matthew Courtney is a studio sculptor and senior lecturer in the College of Art, Media and Design at the University of the Arts.

He received his B.S. from the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts) in 1984 and earned his MFA at Kent State University in 1991. He has taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Tyler School of Art, Drexel University and the Cleveland Institute of Art. He received an Ohio Arts Council Artist Fellowship in 1993 and a Jerome Foundation Emerging Artist Fellowship in 1990.

His recent exhibitions include "Declarations," Fox Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa., 2010; "Artist Educator," Rowen University Art Gallery, Glassboro, N.J., 2010; and "Mentors," University of the Arts Great Hall, Philadelphia, Pa., 2010.

Artist's Statement
In 1977, Matthew Courtney applied for acceptance as an undergraduate at five colleges, one for each of his interests: political science, liberal arts, marine biology, art and one where he could play soccer. After being accepted to all of them and with deadlines approaching, he chose to enroll at the Philadelphia College of Art. His reasoning was he figured he could make art about all of his interests. Now, more than 30 years later, he is still shuffling the imagery of politics, nature and athletics in an attempt to figure out -- and communicate -- the way things are. His current work explores these issues in a three-dimensional version of the Vanitas paintings done by northern European painters in the 17th century.